Chabad at Yale celebrates 10th anniversary

Chabad at Yale held its 10th anniversary celebration on Dec. 9 at the Yale Club of New York. Photo by Chabad at Yale.

More than 250 alumni of Chabad at Yale, an organization centered on the University’s Jewish community, gathered at the Yale Club of New York earlier this week to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary.

The Dec. 9 event, which coincided with the first day of Hanukkah, recognized leaders and supporters of Chabad at Yale and discussed the ongoing construction of a new headquarters for the organization. At the gala, awards were also presented to Chabad at Yale founders: Brian Korchin ’05, Nate Kempner ’05, Jillian Merns ’05 and Josh Schwatz ’05. Fellow Chabad alumni Michael Tabacinic SOM ’10 and Jonathan Weiss ’02 also received awards for their financial contributions to the ongoing construction of the new Chabad House, an 11,000-square-foot facility that will be located at 36 Lynwood Place.

Rabbi Shua Rosenstein, co-director of Chabad at Yale, said he hopes the new building expands the cultural and social opportunities available to Yale’s Jewish community. He added that it will allow the group to expand Shabbat dinners, classes, hire new staff and “create a large yet intimate home away from home for Jewish life at Yale.”

“Ten years ago, we were a few students gathering for Shabbat dinner in a studio apartment in the Taft,” Rosenstein said. “Now, we are completing an 11,000-square-foot building. [The gala] is a celebration of what we have accomplished, and a reminder of the need to meet the challenges of the future.”

The new Chabad House will open its doors to the Yale community in spring 2013.